VILLA PARK – Addison Trail football coach Paul Parpet Jr. said the final game of the season at Willowbrook was a good summary of the season.

Despite a 2-6 record, the Blazers went into the game with plenty to play for considering the Warriors are AT’s District 88 rival and the teams play for The Lady trophy. The Blazers scored first and hung with Willowbrook for a while, but came up short in a 49-32 loss.

“It was the same thing we’ve dealt with all year,” Parpet said after the game. “We didn’t make plays when plays were there to be made. Too many blown assignments, too many mental mistakes, not tackling very well, not converting on offense.

“That was the story of our year.”

Senior running back Jim Wislek ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns for the Blazers, which finished 2-7 overall and 2-4 in the West Suburban Gold. AT had a lot of juniors playing in key spots all over the field, but Wislek was a key leader for the team.

“Seniors always mean a lot to a program,” Parpet said. “Like I said to them, wins are great, but it’s more about the type of people and type of individual that you develop and that come out of your program. We got a classy bunch of seniors and they’re going to do great things.”

After starting the season 0-5, AT played four games at the end of the season with no hope of making the playoffs. The Blazers responded by winning two straight games before losing to playoff teams Glenbard West and Willowbrook in the final two games of the season.

The team entered this fall with higher hopes, and will again have reason to believe improvement will come next year.

Junior quarterback Mike Rybarczyk will have a year as a starter under his belt. He showed the ability to beat teams with his legs as well as his arm. Rybarczyk ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns against the Warriors.

Rybarczyk’s main receiving threats, Jaavion Bradley, Jake Atiyeh and Christian Grabowski, are all juniors that could make for the kind of experienced and dynamic passing game that has made Willowbrook such a tough team this year.